Mesothelioma Cancer Signs and Symptoms

The early symptoms of mesothelioma are either non-existent or mild. Mesothelioma is such type of disease in which symptoms do not manifest themselves until 20 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos. The latency period of mesothelioma is very lengthy. So, disease is commonly undiagnosable until its final stages when symptoms begin to appear. In final stages little can be done to treat the disease. One of the most difficult problems with diagnosing mesothelioma is the fact that so many of the symptoms can easily be mistaken for many other more common diseases.
All patients having any type of mesothelioma suffer shortness of breath, but the pain may be more apparent in the  chest  for pleural mesothelioma or pericardial mesothelioma  and in the abdominal area for those with peritoneal mesothelioma.
Pleural mesothelioma patients may present with shortness of breath or difficulty breathing known as "dyspnea", chest pain and or persistent cough. Less common symptoms of pleural mesothelioma include loss of appetite, inability to sleep, husky voice, fever, night sweats and weight loss. Breathing difficulties also cause insomnia and loss of appetite.
Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma may include pain or swelling in the abdomen due to fluid accumulation, breathing difficulties, loss of appetite resulting in weight loss, bowel obstruction, nausea, vomiting, weakness, fever, anemia or swelling of the feet. Symptoms of pericardial mesothelioma might include mild to severe chest pain, shortness of breath, abnormal heart pounding, coughing, fatigue after simple activity or exertion.
On listening the patient’s chest sounds with a stethoscope, there might be no or less breathing sounds. Tapping on the chest will reveal dull rather than hollow sounds. This dull sound indicates fluid accumulation or pleural effusion.
One of the most common symptoms of mesothelioma is a pleural effusion.  Pleural effusion is accumulation of fluid between the parietal pleura (the pleura covering the chest wall and diaphragm) and the visceral pleura (the pleura covering the lungs). These membranes are covered with mesothelial cells. These mesothelial cells produce a small amount of fluid and any excess fluid is absorbed by blood and lymph vessels. When excessive fluid forms, the result is plural effusion.